“Being president of the University of California is like being manager of a cemetery: there are many people under you, but no one is listening. I listen to them.”

— Mark Yudof, 9/24/09, NY Times interview

40 zombies temporarily took over the UCI campus today, spreading like a contagion in the sterile atmosphere of the university. Not content with the liberatory experience of lurching in what was considered an unlurchable space, the organizers quickly delivered a headshot to the action, returning the action to the familiar and highly-metaphorical terrain of marching in a circle. [This is not to be a criticism of those individuals actually organizing, but to reiterate that we act strategically and smartly.] Meanwhile, four rogue zombies drifted away from the herd and stumbled into Aldrich Hall, spurning a minor police response and the lockdown of the Division of Undergraduate Education office.

[In August, the Division of Undergraduate Education unilaterally closed the Student Academic Advancement Services office, which was funded through a federal TRIO grant. The closing was blamed on budget woes, even though the office still had full funding secured for the next year. The SAAS oversaw Summer Bridge and other crucial services for first generation, low income, and disabled students and students of color. The Division of Undergraduate Education has declared its allegiance to the ruling class in their war against the poor.]

The student government, while finally inserting themselves into the struggle by holding a press conference in matching tshirts, showed just how irrelevant it really is, as their paid off attendees were outnumbered by the undead.